VERMILLION, S.D. – South Dakota women's basketball is set to take on Oral Roberts in USD's Summit League home opener Thursday at 7 p.m. inside the Sanford Coyote Sports Center in Vermillion.
 
HOW TO FOLLOW ALONG
• South Dakota women's basketball against Oral Roberts will be available to watch on the Summit League Network.
• Fans can listen to the Coyotes on KVHT 106.3 FM on the Coyote Sports Network with the voice of the Coyotes Jerry Palleschi on the broadcast.
 
PROMOTIONS
• Thursday is basketball bingo night in the SCSC. Be sure to pick up your bingo card and play along.
 
KEY STORYLINES
• South Dakota will look to go 2-0 to start conference play for the first time since the 2022-23 season, when USD started 3-0 by defeating Kansas City, Oral Roberts, and St. Thomas. USD starts conference play this season with the same three teams in the same order.
• South Dakota has matched its win total from last season with the win at Kansas City, reaching 11 wins at the halfway point in its season.
• The Coyotes switched up the starting lineup at Bradley in the second week of December, moving Division II transfers Molly Joyce and Alex Flattery into the lineup. Joyce started 44 of her 59 games over two seasons at Truman State, while Flattery earned one start in 27 games in her previous stop, a single season at Nebraska-Kearney.
• In USD's 11 wins so far this season, they've won by 20+ points nine times, meanwhile when USD comes up short in a game, they've yet to lose by double digits, with their largest losing margin being eight (at Pepperdine).
• The Coyotes have distributed the wealth on the scoring front this season, with 12 of their 14 players who have played scoring in double figures at least once.
• The Coyotes are looking to start the conference season strong for a second consecutive season after starting Summit League play 3-1 last season.
 
INSIDE THE ORAL ROBERTS SERIES
• The Coyotes and Golden Eagles meet for the 31st time in series history, all coming since USD joined the Summit League in 2011-12.
• South Dakota controlled the early part of this conference rivalry, winning 21 of the first 24 matchups between the two programs, but it has been all ORU over the last two-plus seasons with the Golden Eagles winning six straight entering Thursday.
• The Coyotes won 19 straight games vs ORU from the 2015-16 season to the 2022-23 season.
• The Golden Eagles have won the last six by an average 18 points per game.
• USD's last win over Oral Roberts was a 77-63 result in Tulsa during the 2022-23 season. Three Coyotes scored in double figures in that win.
• South Dakota and Oral Roberts have seen their fair share of conference tournament games against each other as well, meeting in Sioux Falls six times in the last 11 seasons.
• The only team USD has faced more in the conference tournament is South Dakota State (9 meetings).
 
SCOUTING THE GOLDEN EAGLES
• While Oral Roberts is being led by first-year head coach Cophie Anderson, the team was able to keep some continuity from the ORU teams that have been in the top half of the league the last three seasons.
• The Golden Eagles were picked 3rd in the Summit League Preseason Poll after finishing 12-4 and earning the second seed in the Summit League Tournament last season.
• ORU's 8-7 record this season is not necessarily indicative of their abilities, as they have played three Power 4 Conference foes and won four of their final five non-conference games.
• The Golden Eagles are 1-1 in Summit League play this season, dropping a home contest to NDSU 76-68 and defeating UND 95-67 in the Mabee Center.
• The Golden Eagles are led by a familiar face and an unfamiliar face this season.
• Preseason first team all-Summit League honoree Jalei Oglesby is averaging 16 points and 5.9 rebounds this season, but ORU's leading scorer is Arkansas-Fort Smith transfer Anna Trusty, who is scoring 16.8 points on 47.9% shooting this season.

RECORD VS THE SUMMIT LEAGUE
• The Coyotes have five Summit League regular season titles and four tournament championships since joining the conference in 2011 and have finished in the top four in the conference every season except one.
• South Dakota is 189-71 against the Summit League (previously Mid-Continent Conference) in program history.
• USD has winning records against seven of the eight current conference foes as members of the Summit League
• South Dakota has 20 or more Summit League wins against four current members in Summit League play history: Omaha (24), Denver (22), North Dakota State (22), and Oral Roberts (21).
 
10 YEARS OF SCSC SUCCESS
• South Dakota women's basketball is in its 10th season of calling the Sanford Coyote Sports Center, a building that has treated the Yotes well, home.
• USD is 113-25 inside the SCSC since the building opened in 2016.*
• The Coyotes have had a winning record in the SCSC in 8 of the 9 seasons played in the SCSC.
• South Dakota has a record of 58-13 against Summit League foes in the SCSC, including a winning record against all eight current foes.
• USD is undefeated against two Summit League opponents in the building: North Dakota (8-0) and Kansas City (4-0).
• South Dakota has had two undefeated seasons at home during the SCSC era: 2018-19 and 2020-21.
• USD's first win against a Top 25 opponent during the Div. I era came in the Sanford Coyote Sports Center (No. 23/22 Iowa State on Nov. 28, 2018).
 
THE TRANSFER PORTAL ERA
• Over 1,500 women's basketball players entered the transfer portal following the 2024-25 season. USD is one of at least six programs with 13+ newcomers.
• USD is one of at least seven programs with 13+ newcomers.
• USD is one of at least seven programs with at least nine transfers.
• Seven of USD's nine transfers come from Div. I programs, including two from Summit League foes.
• South Dakota's transfers hail from 6 states: California (1), Iowa (4), Minnesota (1), New Mexico (1), South Dakota (1), and Washington (1).
 
CAREER MARKS
• Career bests set against Kansas City Saturday afternoon.
• Alex Flattery tied her career-high with nine rebounds.
• Patience Williams recorded three assists in the win.
 
SEASON HIGHS LAST TIME OUT
• Season highs set Saturday against Kansas City:
• Molly Joyce tallied 21 points, including four made three-pointers.
 
MILESTONE CHASING
• A handful of Coyotes are looking to reach some career milestones this season.
• Molly Joyce could reach 1,000 career points in just her third collegiate season. She passed 900 points against College of Saint Mary, currently sitting at 922 (148 as a Yote).
• Josie Hill is nearing 1,000 career points, currently at 921 (91 as a Yotes).
• Angelina Robles is closing in on 900 points in her career at 882 points.
• Robles is four steals away from 100 in her career.
 
CRASH THE GLASS
• The Coyotes have placed an emphasis on rebounding this season, and it has paid off so far as USD is one of the top rebounding teams in the country.
• USD is ranked 13th nationally and is atop the Summit League in rebounding at 44.9 rebounds per game.
• The Coyotes are getting it done on both ends of the floor, ranking second in the conference in offensive rebounds at 13.5 per game, and ranking 8th nationally (second in the SL) in defensive rebounds at 31.3 per game.
• South Dakota broke the SCSC record for rebounds in a game for a second time this season Tuesday, totaling 63 against College of Saint Mary.
• The Coyotes previously set an SCSC record with 62 rebounds against Valparaiso.
• Patience Williams is 6th in the Summit League (99th in the NCAA) in total rebounds with 117. Her 7.8 rebounds per game is fifth in the Summit League and 123rd in the NCAA.
 
DEFENSE WINS
• Through the first half of the season, South Dakota has been one of the best defensive teams in the country, holding opponents to 54.1 points per game.
• The Coyotes lead the Summit League in scoring defense (54.1), field goal percentage defense (31.2%), and three-point percentage defense (27.9%).
• The Coyotes also rank inside the top 40 nationally in three categories: 3rd in FG% defense, 8th in defensive rebounds, and 18th in scoring defense.
• South Dakota has held opponents under 30% shooting in 7 of its 15 games this season.
• USD's strong defense has allowed for them to have one of the nation's best scoring margins as the Coyotes outscore their opponents by an average of 21.5 points per game (27th in Division I).
   
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